Talk about just-in-time trucking!

Economic Watch: Retail Spending Helps Support Growth

Retail sales in the U.S. finished 2016 on a somewhat positive note, posting the fourth straight monthly gain, according to a new Commerce Department numbers released Friday. Separate reports show improvements in spending during the holidays, business inventories, and consumer sentiment.

The 0.6% increase in retail sales from the month before is slightly less than many analysts were forecasting and follows a revised 0.2% improvement in November from October. Retail sales are important to both trucking and the overall economy because they drive a big portion of economic activity and a lot of freight.

The December level is 4.1% higher than the same time a year ago, while total retail sales for 2016 were up 3.3% from 2015. This compares to a 2.3% year-over-year bump in 2015 vs. 2014, and 4.2% in 2014 over 2013.

Helping push December's level higher was a 2.4% jump in new auto sales, the biggest increase since April. Sales at gasoline stations improved 2.2%, due mainly to higher prices. Excluding these two areas, however, retail sales were essentially flat in December, with the weakest reading since July.

Sales at non-store retailers, which includes online outlets, moved 1.4% higher in December and advanced 11.4% in 2016 over 2015.

“The retail sales data, on balance, remains consistent with our forecast that overall consumer spending continued to grow and at a solid 2.4% [annual] pace in the fourth quarter of 2016, although that would still be down modestly from a 3% jump in the third quarter,” said Nathan Janzen, senior economist at RBC Economics. “Strong consumer spending growth is being supported by further improvement in labor markets, although increasingly reflecting stronger wage rather than employment growth as labor markets tighten and low interest rates.”

He said interest rates are expected to drift gradually higher, but likely at a modest pace. Coupled with further labor ...Read the rest of this story

Celadon Group Announces Details for Second Quarter Fiscal 2017 Conference Call and Upcoming Conference Attendance

OOIDA Denied Rehearing on ELD Mandate Lawsuit

The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association has been denied a rehearing of a court decision in its lawsuit against the federal electronic logging device mandate, OODIA announced on Jan. 12.

In October, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected OOIDA's argument that the ELD rule should be thrown out because it would violate drivers' rights to privacy under the Fourth Amendment. At that time, the court stated that it found that the ELD rule is “not arbitrary or capricious, nor does it violate the Fourth Amendment.”

In response, OOIDA in December petitioned for an en banc (“in bench”) review— a rehearing of the decision by the full Seventh Circuit court. The court has now rejected this petition as well.

Undaunted by the latest decision against it, OOIDA said in a statement that it is preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court and will also “continue to pursue the issue on the congressional side.”

“It's clear now that we have to pull out all the stops to convince lawmakers and the new Trump administration of the need to set aside the ELD mandate,” said Jim Johnston, OOIDA president and CEO.

OOIDA also stated that it is now reaching out to its members who are constituents of members of the House Freedom Caucus, which consists of conservative Republican members of the House of Representatives. That's because the caucus has formulated an extensive wish list of rule changes it will seek from the Trump administration that includes both the ELD mandate and the proposed speed-limiter rule, which OOIDA also opposes.

However, given that the ELD rule was mandated under a GOP House majority (in 2012), it is highly improbable the new Congress will move to roll it back.

FMCSA announced a final rule in Dec. 2015 that ...Read the rest of this story

Penner promoted to CEO at Bison

Navigating the long rulemaking roadmap: Part 3

So in this last post regarding my discussion with David Kelly about the federal regulatory process – you can go here and here for parts one and two, respectively – the subject of “staying in scope” and “administration change” are the topics, largely because (hello) a sei

read more

Love’s Opens Stores in Nebraska and Texas

Photo: Love's

Love's Travel Stops has increased its network of over 410 locations in 40 states, adding new travel stops in Syracuse, Neb., and Angleton, Texas.

The Syracuse travel stop is located near State Route 2 and State Route 50 and includes 68 truck-parking spaces and five showers, along with a Hardee's restaurant.

The Angleton store is located at State Route 288 and FM 523 and will provide a place to park and rest for drivers traveling along State Route 288 which connects the coastal areas of Freeport and Lake Jackson to Houston. The location offers 83 truck-parking spaces and five showers with a Carl's Jr. restaurant.

Both travel stops are open 24/7 and offer food and drinks as well as Cat Scales, DEF and other driver services.

“Both of these will be great locations that provide services to professional drivers in areas of need,” said Greg Love, co-CEO of Love's. “We look forward to providing drivers in new parts of Nebraska and Texas with the ‘Clean Places, Friendly Faces' Love's is known for.”

Related: Love's Set Company Record Opening Stores in 2016

Follow @HDTrucking on Twitter